


A Night with the BAU

by Kaunis_Sielu



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-12 21:58:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12969258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaunis_Sielu/pseuds/Kaunis_Sielu
Summary: You go to an award dinner with your cousin Spencer, but you might not leave with him





	1. Chapter 1

“Alright Spencer.” You say as you pull up to the venue. “You haven’t given me much information about tonight. Other than it was black tie and that your team is going to be there.”  
“What else do you need to know?” You can’t help but grin over at him.   
“Why don’t you tell me about the team?”   
“There’s six of us. JJ, Morgan, Hotch, Rossi, Blake and Garcia. Hotch is the unit chief and Garcia is our technical analyst.”  
“So the rest of you are Agents?” You ask climbing out of the car and handing the keys to the valet who hands you a parking slip.   
“Supervisory Special Agents.” Spencer meets you around the side of the car.   
“What does that mean?” You ask passing him the parking slip, you don’t have pockets to carry anything. He slides it into his pocket as he answers.   
“Just that we outrank Agents and Blake is a Dr.”   
“Of what?” You loop and arm through his, it’s been raining and the last thing you want to do is slip. He pauses for a moment and you get the impression that he’s not used to being touched.   
“Linguistics.” He’s stiff as a board.   
“Are you okay?” You ask softly. You’re not close with your cousin but you can tell by this body language he’s not comfortable.   
“Yea. Thanks for coming with me. I didn’t want to be the only one not bringing someone.” He laughs and his body language softens a bit.   
“I’m glad you asked. I don’t know what went down between our dads but I don’t really care. Their issues aren’t ours.”   
“There’s the team.” You look where he’s looking and see a group of people clearly enjoying themselves.   
“Hey there he is! Come on pretty boy!”   
“That’s Morgan.” Spencer says as the two of you head toward the group.   
“Whose this lovely woman?” A dark haired man asks reaching out and grasping your hand in his.   
“This is my cousin. This is David Rossi.”  
“The author?”  
“You’ve read my books?” He looks pleased.   
“Just one.” You admit, “After Spencer and I reconnected I wanted to understand what he did for a living so I read one.”  
“What did you think?” Morgan asks.   
“That I’m glad I don’t have your jobs.” You laugh softly, “I’ll stick with teaching.”   
“What do you teach?” The blonde woman next to Morgan asks.   
“Second grade at Jackson Elemntary.”  
“Hey Hotch doesn’t Jack go to Jackson Elemntary?” She calls.   
“Yes he does.” The other man responds as he comes toward you. “Aaron Hotchner. This is my sister-in-law Jessica.” They both shake your hand. He looks vaguely familiar but you see a lot of dads and assume that he must have been at the school.   
“Wow we’re rude. The blonde says, “I’m Penelope Garcia and this piece of handsome is Derek Morgan.”   
“Nice to meet you all. What grade is your son in?”   
“Third. He has Mrs. Jarrik.”  
“Oh Mrs. Jarrik is wonderful.”   
“Jack adores her.” Jessica says and you’re curious why her sister isn’t here. No one seems to think anything of it but you can’t help but wonder if the very handsome Aaron Hotchner is single.


	2. Chapter 2

The whole BAU team has been seated at the same table. You had noticed Penelope over there earlier but before you could tell what she was doing Derek had pulled your attention away.   
“So. Abbey, are you a genius too?”  
“No.” You laugh, “Spencer is the family genius. I do have a photographic memory though.”  
“That’s handy.”   
“It can be. Especially during my schooling, but now it’s not as exciting.” He chuckles and you’re surprised by how crazy white his teeth are.   
“Abbey do you want a drink?” Spencer asks softly.   
“Oh sure.” You go to follow him when he says,  
“I’ll go get it. What do you want?”  
“Moscato. Or something else sweet please.” He nods and you turn your attention back to Derek. “Sorry about that.”  
“Nah. I’m glad you could come with Reid. We love meeting family members. Let me introduce you to everyone else.” He loops your arm through his and leads you to the far side of the group.   
“This is Jennifer Jareau or JJ and her husband Will LaMontagne.” They’re an adorable couple. JJ is very pretty and when Will says hello you hear a southern twang in his voice. “Over here we have Dr’s Blake.”  
“You’re both doctors?” You ask surprised.   
“Yes, I’m academic and he’s medical. Alex.” You shake her hand.   
“Oh linguistics right?”  
“Yes.“ She sounds pleased. "What brought on that decision?”  
“I’m just fascinated by the different subtleties in language. How stressing one part of a word over another can completely change the meaning. It’s a really interesting field of study.”   
“It sounds like it.” You say honestly, “I’ve always thought that it was interesting that depending on where your from can completely change what words you use.”   
“Exactly.” She looks excited that you’re interested. “Oh sorry this is James my husband.”   
“Nice to meet you.” You shake his hand as well. You’re never going to remember all of these names. Spencer clears his throat and he passes you a glass of wine. There’s a small group playing classical music and a few people are dancing.   
“So do non FBI people here still call you by your last names or first names?”   
“We call them by their first names.” James says with a laugh.   
“Thanks.” You mumble, Aaron and Jessica have wandered over to your little group and you take a sip of your wine. He makes you nervous, and if he’s the unit chief he probably can tell he makes you nervous. They all can probably tell. Oh well, you give a little shrug and take another sip of wine. You can practically see Spencer relaxing as the rest of the team talks and laughs.


	3. Chapter 3

You’ve almost finished your wine when the trio starts playing one of your favorites. “Oh! Trio in E-Flat for piano, clarinet and viola. Come on Spencer let’s go dance. This is a beautiful one to dance to.” The second the words are out of your mouth you see him turn into a deer in headlights. “Nevermind.” You say with a small smile, watching him with his group you forgot how socially awkward he was.   
“Allow me.” Aaron says softly as he gently plucks your glass from your hand and places it on a tray carried by a passing waiter. He offers you his arm and you take it with a smile. There are quite a few people swaying to the music, some are talking others just clinging to one another. Aaron stops the two of you toward the edge of the floor, you can feel his whole team staring.   
“Could we maybe go to the other side? Your team is very attentive.”   
“You can feel them staring too?” He smiles a small smile. “Let’s go to the middle. Just to bug them.” You laugh and he leads you out to the center of the floor. He turns you and pulls you toward him. You put your hand in his he places his other hand on your lower back, you place your hand on his shoulder. He’s a good leader, smoother than you would have thought he would be.   
“So how long have you lived in the area?”  
“Two years. I moved from Minnesota.”   
“Do you like it here?”  
“Yes I do. I love history so all the museums are nice to have around.”  
“Have you been to the crime museum yet?”  
“No it’s on my list.”  
“A friend of my runs it. I could get you a private tour of you want.” You were kind of hoping he was going to offer to be your guide.  
“That would be amazing. Thank you. What kinds of things do you and your son do?”  
“Go to the park, bike rides, he likes the air and transportation museum.”   
“A lot of kids his age do. Does he play any sports?”   
“Soccer. He wants to try baseball too.”   
“That’s where I’ve seen you.” It finally clicked, “You coach one of the soccer teams. You coached one of my students from last year. She was placed with me one weekend on an emergency placement so I went to the game.”   
“Emergency placement?”  
“Through foster care. Single parent addicted to drugs. They found her unconscious in some alley during school hours I’m on the list so I offered to take her.”  
“She didn’t have her jersey and was crying on the sidelines because she was embarrassed.”  
“You had her smiling again before I even made it off the bleachers.”   
“I haven’t seen her this year. Is she okay?”  
“Yea they found an aunt who agreed to take care of her. She lives in New Mexico now. I still get letters.” You smile, “It was a lucky case. I wish they all ended so well.” The two of you spend the rest of the song in silence. His hold on you has tightened a bit and your chest occasionally brushes against his as the two of you continue to glide to the music.


	4. Chapter 4

The music stops and a man steps up to the microphone. “Everyone please be seated. Dinner will start shortly.” The din of voices starts again as Aaron leads you off the dance floor.   
“Agent Hotchner.” A woman’s voice stops you. She’s taller than you and has fiery red hair that’s twisted off to the side. She would be stunning if she wasn’t staring you down.   
“Agent Lynn. I didn’t think your team was going to be back in time for tonight.”  
“We wrapped up about six hours ago. It’s not every day the BAU is honored.” She smiles at him, while completely ignoring you.   
“Well it’s a win for us all.” He looks over at you, “Oh forgive me, Agent Lynn this is Dr. Reid's cousin," He introduces you then he tells you, "This is Agent Janet Lynn.”  
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” You offer her the hand that isn’t threaded through Aaron’s.   
“Likewise.” She says coolly. Oh this woman has it bad for Aaron.  
“Do you work for another behavioral team?”  
“Yes, out of New York. Our last case involved the killings of dark haired call girls. You know one of the victims looked an awful lot like you.” She turns away then and your mouth drops open in surprise. What. A. Bitch. Aaron pulls your attention back to him and you try to get the hurt look off your face.  
“You ready to go sit down?”  
“Absolutely.” You smile as he leads you back toward the table you softly say, “She has a crush on you.”   
“What?” He honestly seems surprised.   
“Seriously?” You can’t help but laugh gently, “I thought profilers studied human behavior.”  
“We do.”  
“Then how did you miss that. And the fact that she insinuated I was a call girl.”  
“That I did notice. My guess is she’s just jealous.”  
“Of?”  
“You. There’s not a man in here that can take his eyes off you.” Damn he’s smooth.   
You laugh and shake your head.   
“Spencer didn’t tell me that the BAU was being honored.”  
“That doesn’t surprise me. It’s just our team, I have to go accept the award.”   
“Are you nervous?”  
“Not really.”  
“Well you know what they say. If you get nervous imagine the crowd naked.” He chuckles.   
“There are a lot of people in this room I don’t want to see naked.”


	5. Chapter 5

You arrive at the table then and you see what Penelope was up to. Your seating card is right next to Aaron’s. Spencer is on your other side then Derek and Penelope. You sit down and smoothing your dress as you do, a waiter comes over and takes everyone’s drink orders and you ask for a water. Dinner is passed in comfortable conversation amongst the group of profilers. It seems as if you’ve known them you’re whole life. They have a comfortable way about them and you’re glad that Spencer has these people in his life.   
“You’ve gotten quiet. I hope I didn’t offend you.” Aaron murmurs quietly.   
“Oh no not at all.” You laugh gently, “I like to watch people."  
"Sounds like you've got a little profiler in you." He teases and you shake your head.  
"I don't think so. I know what kind of crap you guys have to deal with, or at least have an idea."  
"Did Reid tell you?"  
"Not exactly," You glance over at where Rossi is deep in conversation with Drs. Blake and then lean into Aaron. "I read Rossi's book." You whisper, acting as if it's the most scandalous thing you can think of. This earns you a loud laugh from Aaron, his team looking over at the two of you in surprise. You bite your lower lip trying to keep the grin off of your face.   
"You two care to share?" Morgan asks, raising one of those perfectly done eyebrows of his. How do they look so perfect?  
"Um," You glance over at Aaron then back at his team, "Na."  
"Oh come on!" Penelope groans causing you to burst into a fit of giggles.   
"It's a long story." Aaron lies and you cover your face with a hand to try and calm down.   
The food is brought out first. You spend the meal talking and laughing with Aaron and his team. They're such a fun bunch you'd never guess that they've got one of the hardest, most draining jobs in the world. They deal with so many horrible things that you'd honestly expected them to be damaged but they're not. As the meal winds down you notice that Aaron has gotten quiet. It seems it's now your turn to ask.  
"Are you alright?"  
"I just hate speaking in front of people about our accomplishments. It's so, awkward."  
"I can understand that. Just take a deep breath and remember, if you need to just pretend like you're talking to your team."  
"And to picture the audience naked right?"  
"Right." You laugh. He goes to say something when someone goes up to the microphone and taps it to get everyone's attention.


	6. Chapter 6

As the man is talking you lean over to Spencer.  
“Who is this guy?” You whisper.   
“He’s the Director of the FBI.” Spencer whispers back. Okay, at least it wasn’t someone like the Vice President or someone everyone would know.   
You lean back in your chair while Aaron moves a bit closer. Like he’s having a hard time seeing, at least that’s what you think until his hand brushes the side of your thigh. At first you think it’s an accident but then you realize how hard that would actually be for it to be an accident. Then it happens again, but this time his hand lingers. As it goes to fall away you drop your own hand on top of his wrist. His thumb starts to trace lazy circles on your leg.   
Every time it comes around your heart pounds a little harder. You’ve never felt this way around a man in such little time. He’s driving you crazy and all he’s doing is touching your leg. His hand slips out from under yours and he stands to applause.   
You were so wrapped up in him that you didn’t even hear his name called. He reaches the microphone and says,   
“Thank you. I wasn’t nervous at all earlier but after all those glowing reviews from Director Patterson I am.” He looks directly at you then continues. You don’t really hear what he’s saying your heart is pounding in your ears. You had told him to imagine the crowd naked if he got nervous. He said that he was nervous and looked directly at you. When did it get so hot in here? You shake your head to clear it then begin to listen to what Aaron is saying.   
“It takes a team to do the work that we do. A team that respects one another and trusts one another without a thought. You become closer than family in this line of work and I am proud to accept this honor for my family. Thank you Derek Morgan, Jennifer Jareau, David Rossi, Penelope Garcia, Spencer Reid and Alex Blake. I know you have my back from now until your last breath, and the feeling is mutual.” He steps away from the microphone and everyone stands and applauds.


	7. Chapter 7

The rest of the dinner is filled with speeches, it doesn’t give you much time to talk to Aaron again. You notice his sister-in-law leaves right after the speeches are over. They speak for a while and he looks concerned but she waves him off.  
“Everything okay Hotch?” Derek noticed Jessica leave too.  
“Yea, Jack had the flu last week, I had it and I think that Jessie might have it.”  
“Oh man.” Derek grimaces, “Stay away from me. I heard that flu is nasty. Have you had a lot of kids out sick?” Derek asks looking over at you.  
“Yea. I get a flu shot every year to avoid it.”  
“Have you ever gotten sick from the kids?”  
“Oh yea. I get at least one cold a year.” You laugh. “Last year was brutal. I had it for four weeks.” Penelope winces.  
“Four weeks?” She asks.  
“Four. Weeks.” You confirm.  
“Last year we passed the flu around our house.” JJ joins the conversation. “It went from one of us to the next. Is that why Jessie took off?” Aaron nods. “Poor woman. But we’re going to head out. We have a babysitter waiting. Nice to meet you." She tells you with a bright smile, "Don’t be a stranger.”  
“Oh! Do you like French breakfast food?” Penelope asks you with wide eyes.  
“Of course! I studied there for a semester, I gained fifteen pounds in crepès alone.” She and JJ share a quick look then Penelope continues.  
“One Saturday a month JJ and I go for French breakfast. Alex is so far away that she rarely makes it but would you want to join us?”  
“I’d love to.” You’re touched by her kindness. Most of the friends you’ve made here are work ones and as much as you love them you really need a break.  
“Gimme your digits doll.” She passes you a sparkly pink phone and you can’t help but smile. Why did you expect any less? You pass her phone back.  
“Just let me know who you are before you call. I don’t answer unknown numbers.”  
“I will text you now. We’re meeting next Saturday at Le Lune. 10:00.”  
“I’ll be there.” With that JJ, Will, Penelope and Derek leave.  
“We’re going to head out too. Like Garcia said we have a long drive.” Alex says, “It was a pleasure meeting you.”  
“You too.” The two of them leave hand-in-hand. It’s just you, Spencer and Aaron now.  
“Would you be mad if I go to a Russian film fest instead of taking you home?” Spencer asks not looking at you.  
“Give me the Valet ticket.” You say smiling, he does and then it’s just you and Aaron. You suddenly realize that the rest of the team probably ditched the two of you on purpose.  
“Do you need to rush home?” Aaron asks softly.  
“Nope. What do you have in mind?”  
“How about ice cream and a walk?”  
“Where do you propose we find ice cream at,” you glance at your Fitbit, “11:15 at night?”  
“I know a guy.” He says with a soft laugh.  
“I’m in.” You grin over at him. He offers you his hand and you take it.


End file.
